Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) played one of the best Indian Premier League (IPL) matches on Wednesday (May 18) night, which saw the latter knock the former out of the competition as well. KKR went on to do the impossible by missing the winning line by a mere margin of two runs, all thanks to Rinku Singh's heroics with the bat.
The Uttar Pradesh-lad scored a 15-ball 40 for his franchise, who were chasing 211 to win. Brendon McCullum, whose tenure as KKR coach has ended with this loss, said the franchise would look to invest in Rinku in the coming years, which might see him dawn national colours down the line.
According to cricket.com, McCullum articulated, "Rinku is a player who KKR will, no doubt, invest in over the next few years, and we'll see him really progress and maybe even challenge for higher honors in time as well. Because not too many people are able to bat in the middle order and, sort of, be able to try and pull games out of the fire like he has almost done for us on a couple of occasions this year. Just a great guy and really pleased for him."
The middle-order batter has scored 172 runs in 7 games for KKR at an impressive average of 38.80 and striking at 148.72.
The current England Test head coach also praised Rinku's work ethic by saying, "What an incredible story for someone who's been around IPL now for five years. He's sat on the sidelines for so long; he's worked so hard, and he gives to the team every single day that he has been around. He just plays the game for all the right reasons. He's a guy you really want to do well."
Rinku, who has been associated with KKR since 2017, was repurchased in the mega auction in February for INR 55 Lakh.